Is this plumbing charge correct?

Frank99

I have found a plumber to fit my toilet and sink basin and i got his details from trading standards with the promise of fair trades people etc.
I don't know the first thing about plumbing but i have not yet accepted the quote because without even coming to look at the job his wife phoned me and said the cost is £400 per hour for each fitting!
She said this is the charge and they can't give me a full price just per hour at a staggering £400, after failing to get any other plumber out to quote this is what i'm left with, i even notice customer ratings raving about how much cheaper he is than other plumbers.
I like a full price on the job because if this guy decides to take his time and stay all day i might need to re-mortgage the house in order to pay, i'm now considering going back to college to learn plumbing and try it myself rather than pay this.
Do this sound right?

Alter_ego

Perhaps he doesn't want the job

Frank99

Alter_ego said:

Perhaps he doesn't want the job

Maybe so although his wife phoned again yesterday and left a message saying "you know where we are" if we are still interested, it just shows how much use the trading standards badges are. I understand he does a lot of work for pensioners and i wonder if they pay this.

ToxicWomble

£400 an hour is taking the ... well, you know

If that’s the going rate for a plumber - I am def in the wrong profession.
Would only have to work 2-3 hours a week

Just googled tradesmen prices and to fit a sink and toilet would be anywhere between 200-550 and take about 3-5 hours
 
https://www.mybuilder.com/pricing-guides/hourly-rate-of-a-plumber

fred246

That's how much they get to fit boilers and so they've decided to charge that for jobs when they can't fit boilers all day.

Frank99

I did think it was strange, i mean imagine working 9 to 5 for five days at £400 per hour, i think that is around an eye watering £3600 per day, i am also thinking of a career change based on that lol.

fred246

Your only hope would be if he moved like lightning. If he did it in 2 minutes it would only be £13. Reasonable.

nick74

I wonder if he is related to the chap who quoted me £1500 for cleaning my gutters, soffits and fascias? It's basically their way of politely saying 'get lost, I don't want the work'.

parcival

My plumber charges about £250 per day........West Country!

twopenny

After ages I got a plumbers quote over the phone for £250 for a days work to flush, restore and balance all radiators, check the boiler and put in a new timer.

West Country.

It's taken a long time to find this couple and they gave me a run down of what they'd do (over the phone), price and a date.

Needless to say I'm ditching the one that I've waited 18mts for. Had the same problem with a previous house, left hanging.

I've asked these guys to come and quote for the bathroom too. Move sink and toilet, remove cladding and install bath and tile. Coming on Friday at a set time to quote. I'll let you know.

But no way would I accept an hourly rate. Ok if theres something that might cause problems to say it will cost more but your guy is taking the michael. Persist with looking for someone. I think they are used to pensioners of a certain type just paying up. A firm I worked for sold insurance this way. Some older people like to have the same person and don't want the effort/worry of ringing around.

I'd politely tell them that 'you'll let them know' and look elsewhere.

Local plumbing suppliers often have a list of local plumbers which is a start.

nofoollikeold

1. I doubt very much the plumber charges £400 / hour.  Sounds more like some mis-communication as £40 / hour (not in a big city) is much more likely.  Try writing / emailing and asking them to confirm rate.
2. I wouldn't quote a fixed price for installing a WC and basin either, or at least not until I'd seen the job and had some idea of what the snags would be - there are always some!  
3. If you have bought the WC and basin, you will have more difficulty getting someone to install them because:
3a. There is no profit in the supply for the plumber.  
3b. He / she doesn't know what you've bought, and what quality it is.  Another element of uncertainty.